Champaign, Ill. - There was no sign of an MSU letdown Saturday when the No. 17 Spartans rolled over Illinois in their Big Ten opener, 61-14, to stay unbeaten.
With the win, MSU moved up six spots to No. 11 in The Associated Press Poll.
The Spartans, who previously held a 0-7 record against unranked teams after defeating a top-10 team the prior week, put that part of history to rest and created a new history - 705 total yards of offense and seven offensive touchdowns, both new school records.
The Spartans are now 4-0 (1-0 Big Ten).
"I'm proud of our coaches, proud of our kids," MSU head coach John L. Smith said. "(I'm proud of) the way they remained focused, the way they did not listen to any of the media and how they're supposed to stumble and fall and not be able to win after a big win."
The 61 points the Spartans posted also marks the most ever by an MSU team against Illinois, and the most total points in Smith's tenure in East Lansing.
"We had to come in and make a statement," said senior wide receiver Kyle Brown, who opened the MSU scoring with a 75-yard touchdown catch. "Everybody was talking about how we couldn't bounce back after a big win. We took that to heart.
"That's history, we're living in the present time now."
The offense continued to click Saturday at Memorial Stadium as junior quarterback Drew Stanton threw for 259 yards and five touchdowns before being replaced by freshman Brian Hoyer, who passed for 70 yards and two scores.
"It just showed the character of this team and how we are evolving each week," Stanton said. "We have been working hard and preaching to our guys that we can beat anyone."
Unlike last week at Notre Dame, the Spartans were able to complement the passing game with an effective running game as well.
Freshman running back Javon Ringer ran for 194 yards, while sophomore Jehuu Caulcrick ran for 57, with senior Jason Teague adding 41.
"It started with our offensive line," Stanton said. "They took it personally after last week when people were saying we couldn't establish the run, but that offensive line did a tremendous job and they are the reason we had so much success running the ball."
Senior guard Gordon Niebylski saw this game as a chance for the line to redeem themselves.
"We came out here, we were very focused," he said. "We knew that you just had to do what we had to do.
"We felt very confident going into this game."
Although the day was owned by the offense, the defense showed ability to make big plays also.
After allowing the Fighting Illini to tie the game at seven in the first quarter, the Spartans defense didn't allow any points until the backups entered the game in the fourth quarter.
The MSU defense held Illinois to only 271 total yards of offense, while forcing key turnovers to rob the Illini of potential points.
"We came in with a great scheme on offense and also on defense," junior cornerback Demond Williams said. "It just came together."
After spending two weeks on the road, the Spartans return home next weekend to host in-state rival Michigan for a noon game.
Eric Fish can be reached at fisheric@msu.edu.
